History

• 1996 — November 3, Founded as the Baroque Orchestra of Boonton with performances in the historic Darress Theatre
• 1996-2002 — BONJ collaborated with community organizations throughout Morris County including New Jersey Foundation for the Blind, Birchwood School, Boonton School System, Franciscan Oaks, The Arts Council of the Morris Area, The Tibetan Society, The Princeton Shakespeare Theater, and The Boston Early Music Festival
• 2000 — BONJ collaborated with The Little Opera Company and began a tradition of collaborations and opera production that continues. The first opera was Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, narrated by Celeste Holm. The second was Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’amore narrated by Jerome Hines.
• 2002 — BONJ moved to Madison and performed at Grace Church in collaboration with Grace Community Music.
• 2004 — BONJ began a cycle of Beethoven’s symphonies and concerti in collaboration with pianist Paul Zeigler.
• 2005 — June, BONJ presented inaugural concert at The Nous Theatre in Blairstown, New Jersey; concert featured Metropolitan Opera tenor Gary Pate, Korean pianist Sohyun Ahn, and the Masterwork Chorus for a program of The Mozart Requiem and music by Mendelssohn, Shostakovich, Verdi, and Puccini,.
• 2006 — August, BONJ presented first annual Summer Music Festival featuring orchestra, chamber, opera, early music, keyboard recitals, and symposia. Orchestra also begins broadcasting programs through Cablevision.
• 2008 — BONJ began performing concerts at Dolan Hall, The Annunciation Center, The College of Saint Elizabeth in Morristown; presented first modern day performance of Alessandro Scarlatti’s La Giuditta at Dolan Hall and in New York; through the generosity of the Young Family, BONJ began sponsorship of the Pearl & Julius Young Music Competition.
• 2009 — BONJ performed Acts 2 & 3 of Siegfried, becoming the only conductor and orchestra to have performed three Wagner operas in New Jersey.
• 2010 — BONJ was awarded the first of several awards for orchestra and conducting excellence from The American Prize; performs first annual holiday concert in collaboration with St Joseph’s Medical Center, Paterson.
• 2012 — BONJ began annual performances at NJIT in Newark, New Jersey
• 2013 — BONJ presented the world premiere of Paul Zeigler’s Piano Concerto #1
• 2014 — BONJ presented world premiere of Maestro Butts's Symphony #1—The Joshua Symphony, commissioned by the Plaut Family
• 2015 — Maestro Butts and soprano Dominika Zamara performed Pergolesi’s La Serva Padrona in Crema, Italy and Rockaway, New Jersey; performed concert at DiMenna Center, New York City in collaboration with The New York Classical Music Society; performed two operas composed by Maestro Butts at The National Opera Center in New York City.
• 2016 — Performed Telemann’s Concerto in re maggiore with special guest French Hornist Robert Lee Watt from the Los Angeles Philharmonic
• 2017 — Premiered works by Roman Composer Marco Frisina; performed chamber music concerts in Venice, Italy; collaborated with Light Opera of New Jersey.
• 2018 — Performed in collaboration with The Loyola Jesuit Center, The United Way, Madison Area YMCA, and Life With Joy, and began a collaboration with Morris Arts and Cultural Collective.
• 2019 — Began collaboration with LatinX ConeXiones and Keys 2 Success, featured on WQXR Performance Today, named one of the “Best Things To Do in Morristown” by Discover New Jersey Arts.
• 2020 — Collaborative Performance Video with Keys 2 Success, Creation of online talk show "Bach, Bagels, and Bob," 2020 Virtual Summer Music Festival, featured story broadcast on News 12 New Jersey.

Who We Are

Many of the concerts presented by The Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey take place in modern, comfortable Dolan Hall, located on the campus of The College of Saint Elizabeth. Dolan Hall is a luxurious, comfortable, acoustically sound site. An added, economical plus is the convenient FREE parking adjacent to the Annunciation Center, which houses Dolan Hall.
Dolan Hall is handicapped accessible, with a commodious elevator located just as one enters the building. Dolan Hall, The Annunciation Center, The College of Saint Elizabeth, 2 Convent Road, Morristown, New Jersey, 07960.

Concerts are also presented at beautiul Grace Church, 4 Madison Ave (route 124), Madison, New Jersey 07940. Parking is in the Grace Church lot or along Kings Road.

Experience the award-winning Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey, under the direction of Maestro Robert W. Butts, conductor and artistic director, as we explore great orchestral music of all periods, from the 17th through the 21st centuries.